Tonight's episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" on FOX network will finally bring the Top 20 picks together to compete. Ten male dancers and ten female dancers will be paired up, and each couple will compete against the other nine couples until they are eliminated from the show or until they reach the point when partners are rotated each week by picking names out of a hat. This week one guy and one girl will go home.
This year is unique already. They have a husband and wife ballroom team that both made it, on their own merit, to the "Top 20". You have three tap dancers. Not even one tap dancer has made it to the "Top 20" before. Billy Bell, who was one of my picks to make it into the finals became sick and is out before he got a chance to compete. Brandon, a hip hop dancer will be filling in for him at the last minute. Good luck to Brandon and his partner Pauline.
We have four hip hop dancers:
From Boston, MA, Russell Ferguson, Krumper, Age 19.
From Booklin, New York, Kevin Hunte, Age 23
From Los Angeles, CA, Jonathan "legacy Perez, Age 17
We have seven contemporary dancers:
From Haverhill, MA, Channing Cook Age 18,
From, Orlando, FL, Jakob Karr, Age 18
From, Raleigh, NC, Ariana DeBose, Age 18,
From Downing, CA, Nathan Trasoras, Age 18
From Miami, FL, Victor Smalley, Age 20
From Burbank, CA, Katherine McCormick, Age 18
From Sandford, NC, Noelle Marsh, Age 18
From Palm Beach, FL, Billy Bell, Age 19
We have three tap dancers:
From Los Angeles, CA, Phillip Attmore, Age 25
From Detroit, MI, Bianca Revels, Age 20,
From Philadelphia, PA, Peter Sabisino, age 21
We have three jazz dancers:
From New York, NY, Ellenore Scott, Age 19
From Upland, CA, Mollee Gray, Age 18
From West Covina, CA, Pauline Mata, Age 18
We have three ballroom dancers:
From Fort Lee, NJ, Karen Hauer, Age 27
From Orem, UT, Ryan Di Lello, Age 28
From Orem, UT, Ashleigh Di Lello, Age 27
Noelle has had an accident and hurt her knee, and Billy Bell has become ill. Noelle may be back next week, but Billy is out. Too bad, he was one of my top picks.
So how were they paired up? We'll do a play by play.
From Haverhill, MA, Channing Cook Age 18, and From Los Angeles, CA, Phillip Attmore, Age 25 will be performing a jazz routine. Phillip (tap) is not that much larger than Channing (contemporary), so it was a pairing I'm not sure I like yet. That being said, they did a pretty good job. I didn't come a way with a "wow, that was unbelievable", but it was respectable.
My Scores: Channing - 8 out of 10 Phillip - 8 out of 10
From Orem, UT, Ashleigh Di Lello, Age 27 and From, Orlando, FL, Jakob Karr, Age 18. This routine felt more like a sultry old-time jazz routine. Even though Ashleigh (Ballroom) is from my home state of Utah, and she is beautiful, I don't think she has half the talent of her partner. Jakob (Contemporary) His leaps defy gravity. This couple had more chemistry between them than the first couple. Jakob is an unbelievable dancer. I love watching him.
My Scores: Ashleigh - 9 Jakob - 10
From, Raleigh, NC, Ariana DeBose, Age 18, and From Philadelphia, PA, Peter Sabisino, age 21. Ariana (Contemporary) and Peter (Tap) will be dancing a hip hop dance. Okay, I just watched a tap dancer slide across the floor on his head. Not only that, but he did it very well. Peter was more convincing than Ariana in this style of dance. It was respectable and their chemistry was good, but they weren't clean enough. Their movement was not concise enough.
My Scores: Arianna - 7 Peter - 8
From Sandford, NC, Noelle Marsh, Age 18 and From Boston, MA, Russell Ferguson, Age 19.Noelle (Contemporary) and Russell (Hip Hop/Krumper) are suppose to dance a Foxtrot. Russell has to dance with the co-choreographer, Melanie because his partner has hurt her knee. Russell just performed a Foxtrot like he has been dancing ballroom his whole life. I love this guy. He is going to be big this year like Twitch and Josh from Season Four. He has huge potential. I can't say enough about him. I am impressed.
My Scores: Noelle (didn't dance) Russell Ferguson - 10
From Detroit, MI, Bianca Revels, Age 20, and From Miami, FL, Victor Smalley, Age 20. Bianca (tap) and Victor (contemporary) will be dancing a contemporary routine choreographed by Travis Wall. It took awhile for Bianca to warm up and get into the routine. Victor was definitely a stronger dancer in general than her. However, she ended the routine better than she started it. There were some great original tricks in the unique choreography by Travis Wall.
My Scores Bianca - 8 Victor - 9
From Fort Lee, NJ, Karen Hauer, Age 27 and From Brooklin, New York, Kevin Hunte, Age 23) Karen, (Latin Ballroom) and Kevin (Hip Hop) will be dancing the ChaChaCha. I'm excited to see what these two can do together. Needless to say Karen took to the Chachacha very well, but even Kevin, who was out of his comfort zone, did a respectable job. They had one hard trick that they worked their way through, but it looked scary and slow. They struggled. I agree with Mary that Kevin could have been sharper in his movement.
My Scores: Karen - 9 Kevin - 8
From New York, NY, Ellenore Scott, Age 19 and From Orem, UT, Ryan Di Lello, Age 28. Ellenore (Jazz) and Ryan (Ballroom) are dancing a contemporary jazz dance. With the theme of a fallen angel, these two dancers performed a strong dance. With equal ability and good chemistry, they were impressive. This is a good strong pairing. I expect great things will come from this match up.
My Scores: Ellenore - 10 Ryan - 10
From West Covina, CA, Pauline Mata, Age 18 and filling in for Billy Bell is Brandon. Pauline (Jazz) and Brandon (Hip Hop) have only practiced together for 2 days. They are performing a Waltz together. This was the surprise of the night for me. I liked them better than the shows judges did. Great couple with huge potential if they make it any further.
My Scores: Pauline - 9 Brandon - 8
From Burbank, CA, Katherine McCormick, Age 18 and From Los Angeles, CA, Jonathan "legacy Perez, Age 17. Katherine (contemporary and Legacy (Hip Hop) will be performing a hip hop routine. This is another good couple. They're well matched and have a great chemistry between the two of them.This will be another coupling that will be tough competition for the rest of the couples.
My Score: Katherine - 10 Legacy -10
From Upland, CA, Mollee Gray, Age 18 and From Downing, CA, Nathan Trasoras, Age 18. Mollee (Jazz) and Nathan (Contemporary) will be dancing disco, so both dancers were a little out of their comfort zone. There was more good than bad in this routine. It was fast and high energy. The performed some hard lifts and tricks. They're both young and a very cute couple. This was tough, extremely tough. They could improve on the sharpness of some of their moves, but overall a great first performance.
My Score: Mollee - 9 Nathan - 8
Dancing For Their Lives
The four who have to dance for their lives are Ariana, Brandon, Pauline and Russell.
First up is Ariana dancing for her life. I agreed with the choice of Ariana. She did a good solo, but there is something about her movement that is unattracitve.
Second up is Russell dancing for his life. I disagreed with the choice of Russell. He came out and amazed the crowd with his krumping. He clearly already has a following.
Third up is Pauline dancing for her life. Pauline did a good job on her solo. She has substantial talent. I predict she will beat Ariana.
Fourth up is Brandon dancing for his life. Brandon, who was called in just two days ago, did a phenomenal job on his dance, but he's up against Russell unfortunately. This is where luck comes into play in this show, because Brandon is going to lose to Russell probably and he's a better dancer than some of the other male dancers that will remain.
Judges Adam Shankman, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe will make the decision this week. There will not be a vote from America. As I expected Ariana and Brandon were eliminated. However, because of Brandon's extenuating circumstances, they're hoping they can make an exception to the rules and Brandon will get another chance to be in the Top 20 next season. I hope it works out that way for him, because I think he is a phenomenal talent.
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